Daily Archives: July 11, 2013

The importance of neighbours is highly emphasised in Islam anyway, but what better time to fulfil their rights than in this month?

In the Psalms of Islam (Sahide Sajjadiya), the grandson of the Prophet welcomes the month of Ramadan with a supplication. In it, he states: “O God… Give us success in this month to… attend to our neighbours with bestowal and giving.” Why not reach out to your neighbours with some dates and this letter?:

Dear Neighbour,

It is the month of Ramadan!

Ramadan is a special month of the year for over two billion Muslims throughout the world. It is a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control. Muslims think of it as a kind of tune-up for their spiritual lives.

Fasting has many special benefits. Among these, the most important is that it is a means of learning self-control. Due to the lack of preoccupation with eating or drinking and other such physical appetites during the daylight hours of fasting, the focus is on one’s spiritual nature, which becomes a means of coming closer to God. Ramadan is also a time of intensive worship, reading of the Qur’an, giving charity, purifying one’s behaviour, and doing good deeds.

As a secondary goal, fasting is a way of experiencing hunger and developing sympathy for the less fortunate, and learning to be thankful for and appreciate all of God’s bounties. Fasting is also beneficial to the health and provides a break in the cycle of rigid habits or overindulgence.

Muslims break their fast with dates, and today, we would like to share this delicious and nutritious fruit with you.

Fancy a Date?!

Sincerely,

Giving dates to your schools is also a great way to familiarise them with the month and what your child may be going through if they are fasting, etc.

For inspiration, check out all these ways in which people shared dates!